David Goggins, Author

Man. That’s the only initial response I could muster having listened to the audiobook version of Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins. And I’m glad I went that route over the hardcover. Goggins broke serious ground with his combination audiobook reading/podcast format. To hear David express some of his thoughts in real time after Adam Skolnick read a chapter or a few paragraphs put the listener in the same room with them as they walked through the words that were just read. It felt like you were there with them having a conversation. It almost makes you feel like you know David Goggins in the end, and I’m sure he has had people come up to him and talk to him like they know each other. I can see Goggins looking at them like “Who is this m***erf***er?” Welcome to the podcast era.

Goggins gets very raw about his childhood and the creation of his ulta-strong mind as he refused to quit on his goals and aspirations even if it alienated him from those around him. Many have described David as a freak of nature, but as he explains, he just had to callous his mind against the physical pain of injuries, and the mental and spiritual pain of a hard life of hard knocks.

This is not a book about a Navy SEAL and his war stories of heroism. Navy SEAL was just one of his jobs on a journey into the mind and how far the human body can be pushed. I am one of those average joes who thought the description of SEAL Hell Week had to be the most brutal six days of anyone’s life. Goggins explains in great detail how that was just a week in his life and seeking limits and pushing beyond those limits is a continuous journey.

Ultramarathons, triathlons, pull-up records, hour-long push up sessions, are just a few of the things David Goggins put his body and mind through over the past 25+ years and this book is a no excuses introspective on your own life and are you truly taking advantage of the time you have in this life.

I have listened to this audiobook while driving down the interstate, while rucking and running numerous times. When my body and mind start to fight, I hear the words of David Goggins and “get dark and stay hard”.

A+ format.